


Always The Hero

by Lindsay_marie



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Cute Ending, Fluff, Gay, Hockey, I never write fluff, M/M, One Shot, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, This ship is canon in my world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25780519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lindsay_marie/pseuds/Lindsay_marie
Summary: 4 minutes left in the 3rd period, and the leafs are down by 3. A miracle would need to happen for them to get ahead, and that’s exactly what happened
Relationships: Frederik Andersen/Auston Matthews
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Always The Hero

**Author's Note:**

> I was asked politely to write a fic of the game so I must give the people what they want.

A goal from Cam Atkinson in period 1  
A goal from Vladislav Gavrikov in period 2  
A goal from Boone Jenner in period 3. 

4 minutes left in the 3rd period, and the leafs are down by 3. A miracle would need to happen for them to get ahead, and that’s exactly what happened. Hyman to Marner to William Nylander, in to make the first goal of the night for Toronto. The energy can be felt through the practically empty arena. They’re now fighting for it.  
Not even a minute later, Auston Matthews passes the puck to Mitch Marner, assisting Captain John Tavares for another goal. Only 3 minutes remain in the period. There’s still hope.  
The electricity in the air is addicting. A fight for control of the puck back and forth, making its way eventually to William Nylander. Nylander passes it to Marner, who passes it to Zach Hyman. Hyman shoots, and scores tying the game, and sending them into overtime. 

Overtime is where Matthews strives. He’s got this in the bag. Then, the penalty on Columbus, sending the leafs into a power play. Auston is ready to fight. He knows this is his time to shine. He keeps himself as open as he can. Mitch gets a hold of the puck, passing it to JT. It’s almost like it’s moving in slow motion as soon as Auston receives the puck from his captain. He sets his sights on the line to the goal, swinging his arms back and watches as the puck flies its way past Elvis Merzlikins straight into the net.  
As soon as the horn sounds, everything goes into real time. Auston throws his arms in the air in celebration. He just won the game for his team. His teammates all begin to pile into one big group hug. But, it’s not the same as the celebratory hug he receives from his goalie. With one arm around Auston’s waist and the other on his helmet, Freddie engulfs Auston into a hug. “My hero” Fred whispers against Auston’s helmet.  
“Nah fred, you’re always the hero.” 

After the post game celebration in the dressing room, it’s time to head back to the bubble. The bus is anything but quiet. The sounds of celebrations and music playing over the radio fills the bus. Auston is the man of the hour, but all he wants is to move a couple seats up and curl up into Freddie’s side, and celebrate the win with big red silently.  
Auston and Freddie’s relationship was complicated. They were good friends previously, that was until Fred came down to Arizona to spend quarantine with Auston. They grew closer during that time, emotionally and physically. Auston had never been with a man before, so his feelings for Frederik kind of came as a surprise. The kiss they shared after a night of watching Love Island changed everything for the both of them. Spiralling them into what is now a mix of sweet endearing cuddles, secret make-outs in the car after practice, and the occasional celebratory hookup.  
Freddie was tired, and Auston was as well. So, when Auston walked into Freddie’s room and saw the older man half asleep, Auston wasn’t very surprised. He turned and unbolted the door and locked it shut before making his way to the bed. “Hey big red, tired already?”  
“Can we celebrate tomorrow? I’m exhausted.”  
“What if we lose tomorrow?”  
“Come on Aus, don’t put that out there. I missed three easy shots. I’m not in much of a celebration mood anyways.”  
“Awe Fred,” Auston sits on the bed next to Frederik and rubs his shoulder, “We still won. They put up a good fight, we just fought harder in the end. But you? You killed it Fred. Absolutely killed it. You really are the true hero of the game.”  
“I’m just doing my job. You’re the one who killed it Aus.”  
A smile spreads across Auston’s face as he looks down at Fred. The single lit lamp lights up the side of Freddie’s face, causing the younger man’s cheeks to warm at the sight. Auston wants nothing more than to lean into Fred, giving into his urges. Kissing him softly, but he doesn’t. He just takes in the sight.  
“So hero,” Freddie says, cutting his sentence off with a yawn, “you gonna give me some celebratory cuddling, or are you just gonna sit there?”  
Auston doesn’t reply. He instead just lays down next to Fred, wrapping an arm lazily around his waist, and laying his head on Freddie’s broad shoulder.  
Neither of them speak for a while, letting the intimacy between their silence drown out the sounds of their teammates celebrating around them. No one bothers to knock, because they have an unspoken rule of the door being bolted open or not.  
After almost half an hour of silence, their breaths have synced up, both of the exhausted men are half asleep when Auston softly whispers against Fred's skin, “This is nice?”  
Frederik responds in a similar tone, “Yeah it is. We should do this more often, no?”  
“You know Freddie, I really enjoy spending time with you.”  
Freddie presses a soft kiss to the top of Auston’s head, “Me too Aus, me too…”  
“What are we?”  
“Huh?”  
“Like, I know we’re friends… but we don’t act like buddies.”  
“Let’s get some rest before the game tomorrow. We don’t need any extra distractions. We can talk about this more tomorrow night, is that okay?”  
“I just,” Auston sighs, “I just wanna know if you love me or not Fred.”  
Frederik smiles down at Auston, well aware he is unable to see the smile, “Of course, I have for a while now.”  
Auston closes his eyes, drifting farther and farther off, “Good because,” He yawns, “I love you too big red.”  
They fall asleep in each other’s arms, not worrying about the consequences of walking out of the same hotel room or the discussion they will have the next night.


End file.
